The PSU Research Greenhouse


The PSU Research Greenhouse is a 5,000 square foot aluminum and polycarbonate facility south of Stott Center. The first phase was completed in 2007. A second phase, for which fundraising is in progress, will bring the total square footage to nearly 11,000. The new Research Greenhouse furthers PSU's commitment to being a green campus. In a remarkable achievement for a plant growth facility, the Research Greenhouse achieved LEED Silver certification for energy efficiency and sustainability through the use of sophisticated environmental controls and innovative architecture.

Currently, the greenhouse consists of four independently controlled compartments, a head house, and a covered patio. Each compartment is 720 square feet with 400 square feet of usable bench space. The compartments are devoted exclusively to research projects by faculty in Biology, Physics, and Environmental Sciences and Resources; plant materials used for teaching are cultivated in additional facilities in Science Buildings 1 and 2. All rooms have independent temperature and lighting controls. The Wadsworth Versistep controllers can be run remotely by researchers using StepSaver software, which can provide users with continuous information on environmental conditions within the compartments.

Inquiries about the facility should be directed to the Greenhouse Manager, Dr. Lane Greer at ph: 503-725-2787, email: greerl(at)pdx(dot)edu. Requests for greenhouse space should be made using this form.

 
 


Portland State College of Liberal Arts & Sciences: Biology | Biology

Ph.D Student's Research Published

Ph.D Student's Research Published
The April issue of American Journal of Botany feature's Tanya Cheeke's (PhD, Cruzan lab) research: Evidence of reduced arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization in multiple lines of Bt maize.
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Testing Environmental Stressors in Antarctica

Testing Environmental Stressors in Antarctica
The Buckley lab focuses on the physiological responses to stressors, such as increased temperatures, on Antarctic fish.
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CLEE: The Center for Life in Extreme Environments

CLEE: The Center for Life in Extreme Environments
Focusing on life in extreme environments helps researchers solve global problems in every environment.
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The Biology Department Graduation is June 15th from 1-4pm in Hoffmann Hall. There will be a short ceremony followed by refreshments in the lobby. Guests are welcome! Please click the link below and tell us if you will be attending. Thank you!

 

https://portlandstate.qualtrics.com//SE/?SID=SV_1XETycweCnDNDwg

 

The Biology Department has 24 faculty, about 1000 undergraduate majors, and over 70 graduate students and post-docs. Our faculty take an integrative approach to biology, encompassing all levels of biological organization from molecules to ecosystems. Our Department is committed to excellence in both research and teaching, and we strive to provide a rigorous, balanced education in Biology for all our students.

We share our offices and laboratories with Physics, Chemistry and Environmental Science Departments in the SRTC and Science Building 1. This close proximity with other disciplines helps foster interdisciplinary research at Portland State University. Teaching and research laboratories are further supported by the Herbarium, Invertebrate and Vertebrate Museums, extremophile DNA and microbial culture collections, an aquatic organism rearing facility, greenhouses and an electron microscope facility.

 

Planning to visit? We are located in SRTC rm 246 between SW Mill and Montgomery on SW 10th Ave. For directions, see the PSU campus map. If you don't find what you need here, please contact the department.

Recent News

Fatema Fareh (Undergraduate Student in Biology) won the Cancer Research Training Award offered by NIH/NCL.  

Matthew Holdgate (MS, Duffield Lab) was awarded the Pittsburgh Zoo's "PPG Industries Sustainability & Conservation" grant to study lateral recumbency in zoo elephants. 

Nature News Blog: "Hot Spring Yields Hybrid Genome."  Click on link below.

http://blogs.nature.com/news/2012/04/hot-spring-yields-hybrid-genome.html#wpn-more-17268

Catherine Dayger (PhD, Lutterschmidt Lab) received an ASIH Gaige Award for her research on "The role of corticosterone in reproduction: Implications for understanding the physiological impacts of climate change". 

Christina Howard (MS, Lutterschmidt Lab) received an ASIH Gaige Award for her proposal entitled "Do melatonin and arginine vasotocin interact to regulate reproductive behavior?"

Matthew Holdgate (MS, Duffield lab) received "best poster" in the technical innovation category at the "GIS In Action" conference.  The title of Matthew's poster is " Have Trunk, Will Travel: Using GPS to Understand Zoo Elephant Movement ." 

Erin Shortlidge (Phd, Eppley lab) received an NSF doctoral
dissertation improvement grant for work "Testing mutualistic function
in a multi-trophic sexual mating system in mosses."

Shortlidge, E., Rosenstiel, T, Eppley, S. Tolerance to environmental
desiccation in moss sperm. New Phytologist. In press

Dr. Deb Duffield was featured in the Oregonian for her work with two whales that washed up on shore recently. You can read about it here: http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/01/two_d...

Julia Ruppell, PhD, Murphy was recently awarded a Fulbright for her work with the crested gibbon in Laos. You can see her talk about her research here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSPk6AenNr8&feature=player_embedded

Nicole Paterson, an undergraduate researcher in the Stedman lab was just awarded a $5000 NASA Oregon Space Grant Undergraduate Research Scholarship for work on a novel DNA polymerase from an acidic hot lake.

Published

Lutterschmidt, D.I.  Chronobiology of reproduction in garter snakes:  Neuroendocrine mechanisms and geographic variation.  General and Comparative Endocrinology, in press.  Invited Review. 

Redmond, L.J., and M.T. Murphy. 2011. Multistate mark-recapture analysis reveals no effect of blood sampling on survival and recapture of Eastern Kingbirds (Tyrannus tyrannus). Auk 128:514-521

Deshler, J., and M.T. Murphy. 2012. The breeding biology of the Northern Pygmy-owl: Do the smallest of the small have an advantage? Condor. 114: in press.